Mikel Arteta can use Eberechi Eze to solve Arsenal's creativity issue amid accusations of caution - The Radar

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Welcome to The Radar, a Sky Sports column in which Nick Wright uses a blend of data and opinion to shed light on need-to-know stories from up and down the Premier League. This week:

🔴 Why it's time for Arteta to unleash Eze

📊 Hall's progressive passing for Newcastle

🔍 A player to keep an eye on this weekend

Those accusing Mikel Arteta of cautiousness may have seen some irony in him going on the defensive about his approach this week. Where they saw a team playing with the handbrake on against Manchester City, the Arsenal boss saw proof of attacking intent.

"How can you be dominant against such a team if you have a handbrake?" he asked. His comment that it was "impossible" to predict such dominance of possession could also be interpreted as an admission that he picked his team anticipating a different game.

Arteta tried to rectify the issue by bringing on Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze at half-time. But the equaliser created by the latter was not enough to stop the tidal wave of debate that followed. If anything, it added to it. Why didn't Eze start?

Arteta cited load management and a lack of familiarity with the right-sided No 8 role usually occupied by Martin Odegaard. But it is a difficult case to make. Eze had a full pre-season with Crystal Palace. He could have slotted in on the left if not in the middle.

"Quite simply, the job of a football manager at the absolute top level is to get the most talented players on the pitch without compromise to defence," said Gary Neville. The comment resonated with those Arsenal fans who view Arteta as risk averse.

Arteta rejects the tag. And with some justification. His Arsenal side set a club record for goals scored only two seasons ago. He might also point out that Erling Haaland's goal on Sunday resulted from having nine of his outfield players at least 15 yards inside City's half.

But how he approaches their trip to Newcastle will be revealing. Domination is only so valuable if you can't make it count.

Eddie Howe's side have won their last three meetings at St James' Park by an aggregate score of 4-0 and with an average of 36 per cent possession. Like other opponents, Manchester City included, they have come to understand Arsenal's limitations.

Since the start of last term, Arsenal have a higher percentage of attacks against compact defences than any other Premier League side bar Guardiola's. Sunday's game was just the latest reminder of their creativity issues when teams set up to frustrate them.

Arsenal have many strengths, most of which are rooted in the work of their manager. They are probably the best team in Europe defensively; they are a formidable force from dead-ball situations. But open-play creativity remains a big area for improvement.

With only four open-play goals in their first five games of the new season, Arsenal's scoring rate is at its lowest under Arteta, having fallen in the previous two seasons too. Stop them on set-pieces and you have a good chance of stopping them altogether.

The club clearly acknowledge the issue. Their summer transfer business was intended to increase the scope of their attacking threat, with new signings Eze, Viktor Gyokeres and Noni Madueke possessing qualities to hurt opponents in different ways.

All three players have shown glimpses of those qualities in the opening weeks of the season. So why is Arsenal's creative improvement yet to materialise?

Can it really be that the manager who has transformed the club, elevating Arsenal to the level of consistent contenders, domestically and now in Europe, is holding them back?

Context is important. Arsenal have had to navigate a hugely challenging fixture list, for a start, having gone to Old Trafford and Anfield in addition to hosting Manchester City. It only becomes easier, at least on paper, after Sunday's trip to Newcastle.

Their chronic injury problems are an undoubted factor too. Madueke is just the latest attacker to fall victim. Maybe Eze should have had more minutes but Gyokeres has arguably had too many, with injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus leaving no option to rotate.

Arsenal are still working out how to service Gyokeres. But Eze looks the best foil for his runs having already set up a goal for him against Nottingham Forest. He is probably the only player in the squad who even attempts the pass for Martinelli's goal against City.

All of which brings us back to Arteta and the question of risk.

He opted for the superior off-the-ball qualities of Mikel Merino last Sunday, anticipating chances to press City which never came. But there can be little ambiguity about how Newcastle will set up. It will be about unpicking a compact defence.

No reason, then, if there was one before, not to use Eze from the start and unleash the qualities Arteta himself has lauded. "He has the capacity to create magic moments," he said in August. He repeated the phrase after his goalscoring display at Port Vale.

Arteta might do well to keep his last win at St James' Park in mind too, when, in May 2023, instead of trying to match their physicality, he named a highly technical line-up, including Jorginho alongside Granit Xhaka in midfield as Arsenal triumphed 2-0.

A repeat of that result would put Arsenal on 13 points from a possible 18 having got three of their hardest away trips of the season out of the way in the first six games.

With a kinder run of fixtures to follow, it could transform their title prospects. It could change the mood too. But it might depend on Arteta accepting greater risk, and handing a more prominent role to the player whose omission against City fuelled the debate.

Newcastle's defence has been bolstered for Arsenal's visit by the return of left-back Lewis Hall, who has started their last two games having been eased back into action following a foot injury. His availability is good news for Howe offensively as well as defensively.

As a left-footer, Hall gives Newcastle much better balance in the position than the right-footed Tino Livramento, who has filled in his absence. It is far easier for him to service Newcastle's strikers with crosses from that side and his progressive passing is integral.

Since the start of last season, Hall has a forward-passing percentage significantly higher than any of his team-mates, at 45.1 per cent. His incisive distribution facilitates quick and direct attacks. Newcastle might need it as they look to hurt Arsenal again.

Is Chris Wood's place at risk at Nottingham Forest? Igor Jesus is making a strong case for the role of Ange Postecoglou's favoured No 9 having added a double against Real Betis to the one he scored in the Carabao Cup against Swansea. It will be interesting to see who starts against Sunderland, live on Sky Sports on Saturday.

Cristhian Mosquera seamlessly filling in for William Saliba and showing his potential to become one of the best defenders in Europe was the subject of the last column, which also featured a look at a tweak to Jeremy Doku's positioning for Man City.

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